It was founded in the 14th century during the administration of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, under Zenthgyurgh (Szentgyörgyi) name. In 1660/1666, Senđurađ was recorded as settlement repopulated by ethnic Serbs during Ottoman rule. In the beginning of the 18th century, settlement was completelly abandoned and in 1723 it was recorded as an uninhabited heath.

It was settled again in 1724 by Serb and Romanian settlers. In 1736/37, settlement had 27 houses. Because of the Austro-Turkish war (1736–1739) and pestilence, number of inhabitants decreased and in 1740 the population of the settlement numbered 18 houses. In 1753, Begej Sveti Đurađ was settled by 1,000 Serb frontiersmen from Pomorišje, Potisje and Veliki Bečkerek, and in the same year it was recorded on map as "Serb-inhabited settlement"[citation needed]. In 1758, Begej Sveti Đurađ had 45 houses, and in 1773 it had 182 houses. Church was built in 1758, and it was also used as a school. In 1781, Begej Sveti Đurađ became a property of Isak Kiš (Kis Izsák), who was a trader of Armenian origin.

In 1800-1805, the settlement was moved to another location closer to the Begej river. Part of the Serb population moved from the settlement and settled in Military Frontier, while German colonists settled in Begej Sveti Đurađ instead of them. Begej Sveti Đurađ was a municipality until 1877, when it was joined to the municipality of Veliki Bečkerek. In 1880, the population of the settlement numbered 3,041 people, of whom 1,983 were Catholics, 1,033 were Orthodox, 19 were Jews, and 6 were others. In accordance with the census made in 1910, the linguistic distribution of the 2,814 inhabitants was the following: 1,454 who spoke German language, 1,034 who spoke Serbian language and 214 who spoke Hungarian language.

As a consequence of World War II and Axis occupation, German population left or was evicted from Begej Sveti Đurađ after the war, while 270 Serb families from Bosanska Krajina came to the settlement. In 1947, the name of the settlement was officially changed to Žitište. In 1960, Žitište became a seat of municipality.